


Late Night Bruises

by Annide



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [10]
Category: 9-1-1: Lone Star (TV 2020)
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:53:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24119080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annide/pseuds/Annide
Summary: TK gets himself into trouble, but Carlos is there to help.
Relationships: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1667122
Comments: 4
Kudos: 125





	Late Night Bruises

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Bad Things Happen Bingo: Go Through Me (requested by anon on tumblr)

Carlos had a lot of contacts. It wasn’t all that unusual for him to get tip calls or heads up about things. He had been the one to arrest Michelle so often because other officers who were closer when the call came let him, knowing it’d be better that way. So he wasn’t all that surprised when one of his colleagues texted him to come to a bar right away. He wondered what it was about, for sure, but figured it had to do with something he was working on, or maybe Michelle had gone a little too far. With everything going on in her life, it would be understandable.

It was late, almost two in the morning. Carlos would’ve been sleeping by now if he hadn’t been hoping for TK to show up, or at least text him. But he got nothing. It was just like him to get attached to a guy way too fast only for him to ghost him. Not that TK was ghosting him, he was probably just exhausted after a long shift. It happened. They’d talk tomorrow, when a surely sleep-deprived Carlos would run into him on a call not looking as attractive as he’d want to.

It took less than twenty minutes for Carlos to get dressed and drive to the bar. He immediately noticed the police car outside and heard the yelling as he walked in. Clearly they’d been called there about a fight. Not an unusual thing, but there had to be more to it, because otherwise, why would Carlos have to come when he was off shift? Then he saw him. TK. He wasn’t sure what he expected to find there, but he knew for a fact he hadn’t seen this coming.

People were still pretty riled up, but for the most part police officers had managed to calm things down, for now. TK was leaning back on a stool, an officer near him, clearly not trusting him to stay there. Something seemed off with him, but Carlos couldn’t tell what exactly. He walked over to him, eager to find out what happened.

“Your boy got himself into trouble again.” The officer told him.

“I can see that. Thanks for texting me by the way.”

“No problem. When we’re all done here, he’s gonna need someone to take him home and I thought it’d be best if you picked him up here than if we brought him to the station.”

“What happened exactly?”

“Did he say he was going home?” A man yelled from a few feet away, standing from his chair, an officer immediately putting a hand on his chest to prevent him from taking any further steps. “Not without giving me my money!”

“You’re such a sore loser, man.” TK yelled back, standing too. “You want your money back? Here, catch.”

TK took a few bills from his pocket and threw them across the bar. Chaos ensued. Everyone jumped forward to take as much as they could. The man, who was easily twice the size of TK, yelled at them to move out of his way and leave his money alone. He tried pushing them off. There was no keeping control. It was only maybe a hundred bucks or two, not that much, it was gone in seconds. He was furious. And TK was smirking at him. It didn’t really feel like him. Or maybe it was a side of him Carlos had never seen before. They still barely knew each other, after all. The man came closer, clearly trying to get to TK.

“Stay there, this can be resolved without any violence. If you just sit down and tell us what happened, maybe we can find a solution.” Carlos said.

“I can fight my own battles, Carlos. Why are you even here? I thought you had the night off.”

TK’s words stung more than they should have. It was the tone he used, like he meant to hurt him. Like it was the whole point of saying it. Something was definitely wrong here. Why couldn’t he figure it out? Shouldn’t he be able to?

TK was standing so close to him, but not in a good way. He was trying to push him out of his way so he could go fight that guy. Carlos turned toward him, hoping to talk some sense into him. There was so little distance between them, their noses were practically touching. That’s when he smelled it. Alcohol, on his breath. TK was drunk. Carlos probably would’ve thought of it sooner if it hadn’t been for the fact he’d only ever seen him drink mineral water, and he’d mentioned being a recovering addict. His face fell. This was so much worse than he’d thought.

And then, as he was temporarily distracted, TK managed to push him off, and he fell to the ground. He got up immediately, quickly putting himself between TK and the other man. Unfortunately, that also put him right on the receiving end of a pretty hard punch. He fell once again, his cheek throbbing. That was definitely going to leave a mark.

If nothing else, it did pull TK’s attention away from the fight and to him. He kneeled down next to him, practically tripping over his own feet in the process, to ask if he was okay. Carlos answered with an exasperated sigh. He stood, TK following suit behind him, and put a firm hand on the man’s chest.

“If you want to get to him, you’ll have to go through me. And I don’t give up easy.”

“Oooh! He’s a cop too, you could end up in real trouble.” TK said excitedly. “You should try it.”

Carlos rolled his eyes. The man hesitated. He looked like he really did want to try and get past him, but he was already getting a trip to the police station for his fight with TK, attacking a police officer would only make matters worse. He stopped long enough for the officers on duty to handcuff and take him away calmly. Since TK hadn’t started the fight and was apparently the victim here, all he had to do was give a statement before Carlos could take him home.

Getting TK to his car was more difficult than Carlos thought it would be. He had to hold on tight to him to make sure he wouldn’t lose his balance, but they eventually made it. Carlos drove in silence and stopped to get TK a cup of coffee, to hopefully sober him up a bit. He parked in the empty fast food parking lot while TK drank it.

“So, will you tell me what happened?” Carlos asked after a few minutes of silence.

TK had calmed slightly, the excitement of the bar and the fight slowly wearing off. He stared back at him with so much shame in his eyes, Carlos almost looked away. But he didn’t. He had to show TK that his issues wouldn’t scare him off, that he was there for him if he wanted him.

“I... I had too much to drink, and maybe I was a little too cocky and bragged a little too much about beating that guy at pool, and that rubbed him off the wrong way and he snapped.”

“Yeah, I got that part, TK. But you don’t drink.” TK looked down, suddenly very absorbed in what was left of his coffee. Carlos put as much concern in his voice as he could. “So how come I had to go get you at a bar in the middle of the night?”

“How did you even know I was there?”

“One of the guys who responded to the call texted me. Don’t change the subject. Just tell me what’s wrong. Please.”

“Who said anything was wrong?”

“TK, you’re drunk. Whatever you were having at that bar was stronger than mineral water.”

TK looked back at him. His hurt puppy face made Carlos want to forget about the whole thing and just wrap him in a blanket to hold him for a while. But he couldn’t let this go. He knew how dangerous relapses like this could be for someone with a problem with substances, especially if ignored.

“I never meant for it. We had a tough call today and I went to that bar without really thinking about it. I just wanted to feel some actual physical pain. And I was going to start a fight, like that other time. But then I thought about my dad and you and what you’d both think of me if I did that again, and how worried you’d be, and I stopped myself.”

“So you decided to drink instead?”

“No.” TK was struggling. It was clear to see. This was a low moment for him, one he’d regret for a while, and Carlos wished there was a way to make him feel better, but listening was all he could do right now. “I decided to play some pool, you know, to change my mind a bit. And everyone was drinking and buying each other drinks and I felt like shit and I let myself be tempted.” His voice broke and he paused for an instant. “Now I’ll be back at square one. Again. I’m a huge failure.”

“You’re not. You just had a setback, but you’re not alone and we will all help you through this.” Carlos extended his arm and put his hand on TK’s knee.

“Why would you want anything to do with a broken person like me?”

“You’re more than your issues, TK. You are kind and smart and gorgeous and I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re not gonna get rid of me that easy.”

TK put his own hand over Carlos’s. They stared into each other’s eyes for a while, then Carlos turned back to the wheel. It was getting late, he needed to get him home and make sure he got some sleep and a glass of water. Even with all the alcohol he’d consumed, TK was able to recognise the road they were taking.

“You’re not taking me home, are you?”

“Of course I am. Where did you think we were going?”

“To your place. I can’t go home like this.”

“You’ve never slept over to my place, I don’t think now is the best time for that.”

“Please, you can’t let my dad see me like this.”

It broke Carlos’s heart to see him pleading like that. So broken and vulnerable. TK already felt so bad, so guilty and ashamed. Carlos didn’t want to make it worse. So he decided to bring him to his place and give him a chance to rest before he had to face his dad. The relief that washed over TK’s face when they headed in a different direction was so pure, Carlos melted. He was really falling for the guy, in a too fast, uncontrollable, slightly scary way.

TK still had some balance issues, so Carlos put his arm around his waist to help him get out of the car into the apartment. He sat him down at the table and gave him a glass of water, insisting he drink it. TK stared at him the entire time, clearly feeling bad about putting him in that position so early into their relationship, whatever it was.

“It’s okay, I’ll sleep on the couch.”

“Don’t be stupid, you had a rough night, and my bed is big enough for two.”

“Are you sure? That won’t make you uncomfortable?”

“As long as you understand I’m not having sex with you like this.”

“Kind of a bummer, but I get it.”

Carlos tucked TK in and slipped under the covers next to him. It wasn’t how he’d imagined their first time sleeping next to each other, but seeing how TK felt safe enough there to fall asleep almost immediately was pretty good.

It was still relatively early when Carlos woke up, almost 9 am. It was late by his usual standards, but not so much so when you considered how late it had been when they’d gotten home. TK had moved in his sleep and was now cuddled against him, one of his arms stretched over him. Carlos was careful not to disturb him too much as he got out of bed. He left the bedroom door ajar as he set to prepare breakfast. He was putting plates of food down on the table when Owen walked in.

“Tyler Kennedy Strand!” He was trying to sound angry, but concern seeped through his words more than anything.

TK came sleepily out of the bedroom, rubbing his eyes. He barely looked at his dad before he turned to Carlos.

“How did you get my dad’s number?”

“From Michelle.”

“I’m disappointed Carlos had to go through all this trouble to get to me, why didn’t you call me last night?”

“Carlos was there and I didn’t want to have this conversation when I was drunk and tired.”

“You could’ve talked to me before going to that bar. Why didn’t you say anything before the end of shift? When I asked you about looking shaken up, you said you were fine.”

“I thought I was. I’m sorry, dad. I know I promised it would never happen again, more than once, I just keep letting you down.”

Owen went to him and pulled him into a tight hug. “I’m just glad you’re okay. And there’s a meeting somewhere today before shift, right? I’ll drive you there.”

“But first, breakfast.” Carlos gestured proudly at the table he’d set for three.

“I’d say that’s the weirdest morning after I’ve ever had, but it’s not. And I’m too hangover to worry about it.”

TK ran his fingers softly on Carlos’s bruised face and sat across from him, Owen taking the end of the table. Carlos was worried about making TK uncomfortable, inviting his dad over without asking him first, getting to know him before they were formally introduced outside of work, but TK smiled softly as he listened to them talk. He himself didn’t say much, no doubt suffering the consequences of last night’s excess. Carlos admired TK’s relationship with his dad, their closeness was a beautiful thing to see. He hoped someday they would let him more into their family.


End file.
